Just another day at the office

In all fairness I had a great day with the kids today.  Last week we had the Living Eggs program, where we obtain 10 eggs and they hatch in the room, and we spent the morning investigating what they learned about the process of eggs to chickens.  I had actually been away last week (yes, I caught HFM disease and was stuck at home for the week due to the exclusion period for HFM).  Due to the fact that I had been away I decided to recap the whole chicken cycle as the children were so excited to show me all the chicks when I arrived this morning.  When it came to plotting on the mind map what we had learnt and now knew about chickens the children amazed me with what they shared.  One child even said that you can get eggs from the supermarket but those are for eating, not hatching.  This then lead in to a discussion about how an egg needs a male chicken, known as a rooster, to be able to fertilise the egg so that a chick can be produced.  If there is no rooster involved then the egg is for eating.

With Easter soon approaching we then discussed what other animals laid eggs and I was so proud of how many different animals the children were able to name.  We recalled crocodiles, birds of all varieties, penguins, snakes, some fish, ducks, frogs and even a platypus.  I think I was most stunned by platypus as we hadn't spoken about that animal since Australia day celebrations.

So my day with the kids was wonderful, we managed to turn vast areas in the classroom into a road using the various wooden blocks that we have.  Others set up a pet shop where they sold the plastic animals for two dollars each, one girl managed to paint her way through 30 paintings (yes, THIRTY!) and we all enjoyed a long leisurely lunch together and a good catch up on all our news.

So there we have it, the classroom is fantastic and working with the children is always enjoyable.

So where exactly did my day feel down?

Now this is the issue that I always stumble upon when dealing with working in a long day care as a qualified teacher.  Most of the staff there don't hold any qualifications or they are still "studying" to obtain them.  I plan to write a post soon to describe more in detail the stumbling block but let's just say for now...some of the girls think that I don't take my job seriously because they don't understand play based education that is founded on children's interests and scaffolding their learning.  I often get some truly awful comments directed at me as well as them often complaining to the two directors about things I am doing with the children.

Today I got a bit of a rough deal.  It was hot, and I mean STINKING hot, this afternoon.  We are having some unusually humid and hot days for late March here in Queensland.  Out in our playground we have the most amazing water park.  There is a series of sprays that come up from the ground surface and then a crocodile and a frog which both spray water out of their mouths all topped off with a dolphin that sprays water out of its spout.  Due to the heat I turned the water park on and let the kids play and get wet and boy were they having FUN.  They love the feeling of the water as it sprays them and soaks them and they love when you turn the jets on and off and catch them with the water.

Anyway after they had all played in it for a while I shut it off so they could run around and dry in the glorious sunshine that we had today.  So I am sitting there, chatting to a group of kids, when I hear this loud comment "Aren't you going to get the kids changed?".. So I looked up and I said "If they would like to get changed then they are free to ask but most seem happy drying in the sun."  Somehow this went down like a lead balloon and I went back to chatting to the kids and I even asked the ones with me if they wanted to change but none of them did.  Suddenly there was another loud exclamation and huff and a puff from across the yard , "Fine, I suppose I will do it then!"  Did it end there? Oh no it didn't!  Suddenly there was a huge yell from another group leader (these two gang up against me constantly) of "Don't you DARE! Make her do it!!"  I ever so casually glanced over and said to them "well if that one wants changing there is no harm in helping, I've asked these ones and they refuse to change,"  I think at that moment the lead balloon actually went underground as I suddenly was barraged with "you know, as a parent, if I came to pick up my child and they were wet from the water park I would be disgusted."

(Insert rolling eyes here) Oh the shame, the horror, a child with a damp t-shirt, the world will END!

Now don't take it the wrong way here, of course, if a child was soaking wet and wanted to be changed then I am more than happy to help but when it 32C (70F) and bright and sunny with high humidity...most the kids ENJOYED being wet as it was cooler.

I guess what really got my goat is the fact that in the morning the one who screamed out .."Don't you DARE! Make her do it!!".. actually turned the water park on and afterwards she didn't change a single child.  When I do it, I am frowned upon and treated to that sort of reaction from them.  In fact this morning before group time I had to change four of my kids because they had gotten wet in the water park.  I certainly have no issue changing them at all when we went in, just tired of the double standards and the way they attack every little thing that I do.  I guess my view on it all is that we work as a team and if after playing in the water park one of the 30 odd children wants to get changed and approaches a different educator to the one who turned on the water park...then just get the child changed, no need to be a bitch to others.

There are two things I know for a fact;
1) They bitched about me all the way home as they left together to go home.
2) Tomorrow they will complain about it to the directors.

Welcome

I think I should start this off by describing who I am and the purpose for this blog.

Who am I?

Well I am in my 30′s (so I have been around the block once or twice in my life) and I am a single mum working as an Early Childhood Teacher.  I gained my Teaching degree last year (mid 2012) and pretty well walked straight into a job as a pre-prep (Kindergarten) teacher in a long day care center.  For those of you who don’t know, Australia (after being heavily embarrassed in the OECD report – yes we ranked VERY low in Early Childhood Education) took the radical step of phasing in a new era of education for our youngest citizens.  In essence this new regime means that day cares now how to employ Bachelor qualified Teachers in all pre-prep programs.  Good idea or what?  Perhaps? Perhaps not?

So here I am, a newly qualified teacher, working in an environment where 99% of my colleagues are untrained and in their early twenties.  I literally am crazy!

Prior to gaining my degree I worked 10 years in a Kindergarten as a Teachers Aide and a year in China teaching TESOL to children aged 3-14 years old.  

Purpose of this blog?

I suppose the BIGGEST purpose for this blog is using it as an outlet to share both the highs and lows of working as a teacher in an environment where few really have any idea what they are doing.  Perhaps along the way I might meet other ECE Teachers from Australia who have shared similar experiences and can relate to what I write about.  Mostly this blog is therapy, personal therapy, a way to get off my chest the various trials and tribulations and triumphs that happen within the long day care sector of Australia.  Perhaps along the journey of writing it all out I might be able to find meaning in the various situations that I wind up in on a day to day basis.

Working in long day care is extremely frustrating, make no mistake about that!  

I hope to both entertain, excite, share, frustrate, and delight within this blog.

Stay tuned…